My New Life Karakura Town
by otakulove67
Summary: New towns are always hard. Being the new girl is always hard. Explaining why you live with your sister and her husband and not your parents is harder. Ichiruki, more chapters to come. My second fan fic. ever, please R&R XD
1. New Home, New Life

New towns are always hard. Being the new girl is always hard. Explaining why you live with your sister and her husband and not your parents is even harder. Making new friends who accept you is the hardest. Thankfully, at my new school, I found not only friends who except me for who I am and all the crap I've gone through, but some of them are even more messed up than me. Here's my story.

XDXDXDXD

"Tada!" My older sister, Hisana, says, taking her hands off my eyes and showing me my new room for the first time. It is a really beautiful room, even more beautiful than the rest of the mansion we just moved into. It has a bathroom and a walk-in closet, and a huge balcony overlooking the backyard, which has a large, beautiful pool and jacuzzi, and a flower and vegetable garden that will keep Hisana busy when she's not working. There is a large bed, big enough to fit three or four average-sized teenage girls, and a large mirror that reflects the whole room back on itself. The only problem with the room is the color. It is a color only Hisana could choose for a room. Hot pink. I have to blink a couple times for my eyes to adgust to the brightness. She could have gone with a deep blue, or a light pink, or even white, but she chooses hot pink. I sigh and turn around to face her. She heard the sigh and looks worried, but I smile.

"It's nice." I say, hugging her. Hisana's been under a lot of stress lately, what with Byakuya's job transferring to a town we'd never heard of, Karakura town, and with finding a house in a couple of weeks, I can't complain about the color of my bedroom.

"I'm glad." She says, smiling. "I'll leave you to unpack." She says, and she leaves, giving me time to explore my new room. I go into the closet to see all of my clothes already on hangers and hung up, and notice a door right across the one leading to my bedroom. I open it and walk into a little study with a dark desk, a bookshelf with all of my books on it. The one wall facing the outside is made completely out of glass, and I have a better view of the vegetable garden. I walk back into my bedroom and look around more. All my clothes and all the big things are already unpacked, either by Hisana and Byakuya or by some help they hired. I look and see only the small box of extra items that they wouldn't have known where to put. I open it up and look inside. On the top there's a picture:

A man with black, shoulder length hair. He has a stern expression and glaring grey eyes, but you can tell by the way he placed his hands on the woman next to him that he's really very gentle and loving. The woman he has his hand on has black hair slightly longer than shoulder length and large, dark blue eyes. The girl standing on the other side of the man looks like a younger, better-kept version of the woman with shorter hair.

I remember taking this photo, how cold it was outside, but Byakuya still insisted on taking it. It is a picture of me with Byakuya and Hisana at our old house. I set it on a table next to the bed, then unpack the rest of my things, placing an identical copy of the picture on my desk.

I'm just finishing up unpacking, squishing the box down so that it will be easy to store, when someone knocks on the door.

"Come in!" I say, turning to see who it it.

Byakuya walks in, holding a key on a chain.

"I have a gift for you, Rukia." He says, holding out the key.

"A key." I say. "What I've always wanted." He smiles at my sarcasm and chakes his head.

"the gift is what it unlocks, stupid girl." He says. He takes my shoulder and starts leading me downstairs. "It was really Hisana's idea, but you'd have figured that out without me telling you. As a hint, you've been asking us for one for years now." He smiles as the options run through my head. It could be a car- even though I'm too young to drive, I've always wanted a car to call my own- it could be a dog, it could be a better cell phone, it could be one of those little robot animals that bark when you tell them to speak, it could be-

"Here we are." Byakuya says, interrupting my thoughts while leading me into the foyer. I look over at the couch and see Hisana sitting there, and next to her there is a cage with a keyhole in the door.

_It could be a dog..._ I remember myself thinking as I rush forward. I unlock the door in one swift motion and grab the dog inside. It's really too young to call a dog yet, it's more like a puppy. A very small puppy, at that. It lift it up in front of my eyes and look at it, and it looks back at me sleepily. It's a golden retriever puppy, and is the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life.

"Thank you so much!" I say, hugging both Hisana and Byakuya.

"What are you going to name him?" Hisana asks after I calm down slightly.

"Hm." I say, thinking. "I know! Why not Kawaii?" We laugh, and I take him up into my room, where I see someone delivered a huge dog bed that Kawaii will have to grow into, two bowls, and a large container full of dog food. I smile and put Kawaii on the bed and lay down with him. He instantly falls asleep and I watch as he breathes deeply, making cute sounds as he sleeps.

XDXDXDXD

It's been two weeks since we moved to this new house in Karakura town. I haven't done much more than read and play with Kawaii. He gets tired easily, so we can only play for a little bit, but that's fine by me. I take a picture of him every day and tape it onto my wall so i can see how he changes, and I've already bought tons of toys for him. He doesn't use the bed that Byakuya bought him except for when he wants to go to sleep and I'm not there to put him on my bed; he sleeps with me every night, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Besides going out to eat a couple times, I haven't been out of the house much; I just don't feel like going out and about. Anyway, school is starting soon, and I'll be gone so much then, I want to be able to enjoy spending time alone with Kawaii while I can, because when school starts up I won't have enough time to spend doing anything much more then studying.

Tomorrow will be the first day of school, and already the nervous feelings of being the new kid at school are kicking in. The usual questions of what kids will think of me and whether or not I'll fit in start to come, but I try to shake them off. Things always turn out in the end for me, so I need to stop worrying. That aside, the school is supposed to be good, and student-teacher relationships are supposedly more like friends talking to friends than superior talking to minor, even if the uniform is horrible. It's totally grey, the only color being a red bow worn around the neck. Other then that it's a grey shirt, a grey skirt, and white knee-highs, but white is a pretty dull color, too. I sigh and lie down next to Kuwaii, who is soundly asleep, enjoying blissful ignorance. I'll fit in. I tell myself again, then turn around and go to sleep.


	2. New Life, New School

**Disclaimer: Haha, I forgot to put this in the first chapter… oops, my badXD I am not worthy of owning Bleach. That honor belongs to, and solely to, Tite Kubo. May he live forever and bring us more great manga.**

**About this chapter: Ahhhh, the fated chapter in which they meet… or not. I'm not sure yet. Ichigo and Rukia might meet, but then again, they might not. We'll just have to wait and find out…**

XDXDXDXD

I look at the bag, packed and ready to go, sitting on my bed. Next, I turn and look at myself, dressed, but not quite ready to go. I still feel very nervous about fitting in, and I'm afraid those feelings won't go away until after the first day of school. I look back at Kawaii, sitting on my bed, sleeping. He always sleeps, unless he's eating or using the restroom. Other than that, it seems like his eyes are never open. I go over and pet him, thinking about one time when I was starting my first day at a new school when I was younger.

"_Hisana" I say, looking up at her and then looking back down at my reflection in the small bathroom mirror._

"_Yes, Rukia?" She asks, stroking my hair, pulling it back into a braid._

"_Why do we have to go to school on the first day of school? Why can't we just skip the first day of school and start on the second instead?" _

I remember her laughing, but I don't remember her answer. I sigh, pick up my bag, and go downstairs to eat breakfast. Breakfast before the first day of school is the worst. You can have great conversations, and forget about the task ahead, but then as soon as a second of silence fills the room, all you can think of are the teachers, and the students, and the homework, and the classes.

I walk down the huge staircase, then through a few rooms until I get into the breakfast room. It's not the biggest room, but it's very nice, with three glass walls and plants of Hisana's everywhere, it's a nice place to enjoy breakfast in the morning. Or worry about school in the morning. When I enter the room, I see Byakuya and Hisana already digging into breakfast. It's a breakfast of eggs and potato pancakes. I look at the big plate sitting in front of my spot, and sit down.

"How are you feeling, Rukia?" They ask at the same time, Hisana looking up from a book, Byakuya looking up from a newspaper. I laugh at them; perfect unison without even trying. It seems like they always manage to make me smile, even when I'm so nervous I don't want to eat.

"I'm fine." I say, eating some of the eggs and pouring a cup of juice.

"That's good" Hisana says, and Byakuya nods in agreement. Of course, because they're reading, my whole breakfast is filled with that silence in which you can worry as much as you want. When I'm done eating, I brush my teeth and head out and sit in the passenger seat of Byakuya's black car. He's already in the driver's seat, starting up the car. We drive to the school in silence, and when we get there, he stops outside the school. I look around, seeing all the different kids. There are normal looking kids, then there are kids who look a little crazy, and then there are kids who look like total delinquents. Like, a boy standing near a gate, talking to some other kids. His friends look normal, but _he_ has long, bright red hair and tattoos all over his body. He also isn't wearing the uniform tie, and has the first few buttons on his shirt undone.

I look back at Byakuya and see that he's looking at the same guy I am.

"Maybe you should stay away from him." He says, going into overprotective-parent mode; even though he's my brother-in-law, he acts like a father from time to time, too, the same way Hisana acts like a mother sometimes. I shrug at him and exit the car.

"Thanks for the ride." I say, and walk up to the school. I follow directions from random people to get to my homeroom, and then walk up to the teacher, getting my assigned seat.

At least the teacher seems nice, I think. I look around and see that guy with the red hair and tattoos heading over my way. He's followed by a girl with wavy orange hair and huge endowments, and I hope that they aren't coming to talk to me.

But, no such luck. "Who are you?" The boy with the red hair and tattoos asks, looking down at me like I'm some piece of trash.

"I'm Kuchiki Rukia. Who are you?" I ask, trying to sound polite. I hold out my hand, but he just stares at it like it'll bite him if he gets closer.

"That's not important. You new here?" He asks, and I nod, pilling my hand back and setting it on my desk.

"Well, we just wanted to let you in on a few rules, newby." He says, wrapping his arm around the girl's shoulders. "During lunch, the roof is ours. Don't even _think_ of going up there. Next, Matsumoto here's not very good at math, so during tests, you're going to have to find a way to help her." I glare at the guy saying this, making a mental note to get to the roof as soon as the lunch bell sounds just to irritate him.

"Why doesn't she try studying?" I ask, trying to sound puzzled and innocent. He glares at me and opens his mouth to speak, but the bell rings, so he turns around and sits in his seat.

"Okay, class." Says the teacher. "We're going to start off by telling your name to the class since we have a couple new kids this year." I won't list all the names, only that the red-headed tattoo-covered guy is named Abarai Renji, and that his girlfriend is named Matsumoto Rangiku.

The first few classes go quickly and without problem, and I take as many notes as possible. We don't learn too much since it's the first day of school, so I don't really need to take notes, but it's nice to be able to look back and check what you learned at the beginning of the year when summer comes around. It can be fun to see how far you've gone. When the lunch bell rings, I shove my books into my bag and grab my bag lunch that Hisana made for me. I then run up to the roof. Right before I open the door to the roof, I feel a little apprehension; that guy was big, and he had a couple big friends. What if they really get mad that I ignore them and go up on the roof to eat? I shove this idea out of my head. No one messes with a Kuchiki, especially over something as insignificant as where to eat lunch, I tell myself, and I open up the door.

I almost laugh when I see that the roof is empty, and that no one is there yet. I choose a corner to sit in and start my lunch. The corner is visible from the door, but also far enough away that if you're distracted you won't notice someone sitting in it. I then open up my bag lunch and start eating the food Hisana packed for me. She's not a very good cook, so the food pretty much sucks, but it's edible. I start in on something that looks like a burnt sandwich, though what you have to do to a sandwich to burn it is beyond me. Before I take a bite, I notice a movement in my peripheral vision, and look to see someone standing there. The door hadn't opened yet since I'd gotten on the roof, so he must have been on the roof, and I just hadn't noticed.

He has black hair almost as dark as mine, and glasses that reflect the sun, so I can't tell what color his eyes are.

"Hello, Ms. Kuchiki." He says politely. I slightly recognize his voice, and figure that he must be in my class. I smile up at him, embarrassed that I don't remember his name. "I'm Ishida Uryuu." He says. "May I join you?" He asks, and sits down beside me when I nod. When he sits down, he puts his hand up to shade his eyes from the sun, and I can see his eyes. They're a dark blue-grey, even darker than my dark blue eyes.

He smiles at me and opens his mouth, about to say something, but at that moment, the door to the roof bursts open, and there stands Renji, with some more kids behind him. I recognize the other kids from class; there's Keigo Asano, a loud boy with brown hair and brown eyes, Mizuiro Kojima, a shorter guy with black hair and dark eyes who's a total lady's-man. Next there's Tatsuki Arisawa, an aggressive-looking and acting girl with short black hair, and Chizuru Honsho, a flamboyant girl with red hair and grey eyes. Last, there's Inoue Orihime, a girl with long orange hair who's soft spoken, and a huge guy named Sado Yasutora, who probably speaks more with his fist than his vocal chords.

"Ishida!" Renji yells, pointing at Ishida, who turns around to face the group. "What are you doing talking to her? And you, Kuchiki!" He says, pointing at me now. "I told you not to come up to the roof!"

"I didn't know that you were serious. Or allowed to tell me what to do." I say, knowing I'm just setting myself up to get beat up or something, but I don't really care. On my first day, already people are becoming my enemies before even having a real conversation with me.

XDXDXDXD

After a few minutes of listening to Renji get mad at me and me shooting sarcastic retorts back at him, I get bored and leave, going to eat lunch in the classroom. When class starts back up, the only thing worth mentioning that happens is Renji glaring at me from across the room. I just ignore him, listening to the teacher and taking notes, then packing up when the end-of-school bell rings. Before I leave, the teacher asks me about my day, and I consider telling her about Renji being less-than-friendly, but I decide against it. I tell her that everything went well and walk out to wait for Hisana and Byakuya—they always manage to both come to pick me up after the first day of school.

I walk out of the school and stand in front, hoping that Renji is done being mean for the day, when I hear him yell something to someone from the other side of the school yard.

"Oi! Ichigo! Why didn't you come to school today?" He yells, and I turn to see who he's talking to. At first, all I notice is the spikey, bright orange hair, but then I see that he has a very handsome face, though he seems to have a permanent scowl plastered on.

"Yuzu was sick today, so I had to stay home and help out." I hear him say—talking a lot more quietly than Renji. "You know that my dad and Karin don't know what to do with themselves when Yuzu's sick. I woke up and had to make them breakfast because they weren't sure what to do." I smile hearing this, remembering how desperate and lost Hisana gets whenever Byakuya gets sick and vice versa.

"Anyway." The guy—Ichigo, was it?—says. "It was only the first day of school. I can't have missed much." I think of how right he is—he missed absolutely nothing but me being yelled at—and am brought out of my thoughts by the sound of Byakua's car horn coming from the front of the school. I turn to see his car, the window open. Through it I can see Byakuya at the wheel and Hisana, smiling and waving.

"Rukia!" She yells loudly, and I blush at how loud she is. I run up and get into the back of the car, happy to be going home. When I sit down, I put my bag next to me and see Kawaii sitting there, wagging his tail, his tongue slopping out of the side of his mouth. I pick him up and hug him while Byakuya drives away. While Hisana questions me on my day, I answer all of her questions as truthfully as possible, only bending the truth where Renji is involved. I don't want them to hear about him being mean today because it will make Hisana worry and make Byakuya call the school and complain. The drive home is quick and easy, and when there I run up into my room to start my homework, leaving Hisana and her questions to talk to Byakuya about what she thinks of my school so far.

**I wanted to say thanks to the people who added this story to their favorite stories— it made me very happy. I'm especially grateful because I know that whenever **_**I **_**read a multi-chapter Ichiruki that's still in progress, I don't like to read it if they haven't met yet in the chapters made (I'm an impatient child, I know). So, just wanted to say thanksXD Please review!**


	3. New Friend, Old Enemy

**Disclaimer: Do I need to put one of these in each chapter? If so: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. I tried to think of something funny and sarcastic to put here, but I couldn't think of anything :P**

**About this chapter: This time, I swear, they will meet! I've even planned it out and everything, which is pretty big for me! Please review, I've only gotten one review for this story :'(**

XDXDXDXD

I stare at the page of the book, the first chapter of which we're supposed to be reading for school. It's Friday night, and I got home four hours ago from my first day of school. Why Karakura high school started on a Friday, I do not know, all I know is that I'm on my last homework assignment for the weekend and have nothing planned for my two free days. I look up and blink a few times; I'd been staring at the page so intensely while spacing out that I'd completely blocked out the color of my room. The hot pink shocks my eyes and almost makes my head hurt. I blink a few more times for good measure and look back down at the page, then hear a knock at the door.

I get up and open the door and see Hisana standing there, smiling and holding up some money in front of her.

"How about you go do your Onee-san a favor, little sis?" She asks, practically shoving the money into my hands.

"What would that favor be?" I ask, suspicious.

"Nothing much. I just want you to run over to that book store a couple blocks away and grab me a book." She says, smiling as if there's no way I'll say no.

"Why can't you go get it?" I say, though I'm already getting prepared to leave by pulling out some better clothes than the school uniform I forgot to take off.

"I am busy with work, silly." She says, poking my nose.

"If you're so busy with work then how did you start thinking about books?" I ask, pulling on a yellow and red striped hoodie, and then a pair of light jeans.

"Because, my boss asked me to read a book for him and then tell him what it's about because _his_ boss told _him_ to read it but _he_ doesn't have enough time. Then, I was sitting there, reading," She starts, talking like she's telling the most interesting story that could ever be told. "And I thought about how BORING that book is, and I thought how much I'd love to read a _different book_, and then I thought about how busy _I_ am, and about how much time _you_ have, and, well, _you_ put together the puzzle pieces." She concludes, ending in an and-there-you-have-it type of tone.

"Fine. What book do you want?" I ask, heading down the stairs with Hisana following me.

"Hm," She says, hugging Byakuya, who happened to be going up the stairs while we were going down them. "Maybe the third book in that series I'm reading." She says without further explanation, but it isn't needed; I know what she's talking about.

"Well, I'll see you." I say, walking out the door and locking it behind me. The bookstore is a couple of blocks away, and I only have about an hour or so before it closes, so I'll need to hurry. I start walking in the direction of the bookstore, not really thinking about anything in particular.

I get to the bookstore right when it starts to sprinkle. I rush in and look around. It's about half an hour before closing, and there's practically no one there, only a few scattered people.

"How are you?" Asks the person working behind the counter.

"Good, thanks." I say then start looking around for the book Hisana wants.

I find the section it's in pretty quickly. I head into the section and start looking around. There's someone standing next to me, but I don't look up to see who it is, I'm too busy trying to find Onee-san's book. I look until I find it, wedged tightly between two other books, only one copy left. I reach out to grab it, but the hand of the person standing next to me gets there first. We both take our hands back and look at each other.

"You're... Rukia?" He asks, and I nod. It's the boy, Ichigo, with the orange hair I'd seen with Renji after school. The scowl he'd had earlier is replaced now by a look of shock, and I notice the color of his eyes—he was too far away to tell earlier. They're beautiful light brown.

"Uh." I say, sort of blushing, though I don't know why. "How do you know my name?" I ask.

"Your sister yelled it after you today, remember?" He says, and I nod, surprised that he remembers .

"Yeah." I say, looking at the floor, blushing even harder. "And you're Ichigo." I say, looking back up at him.

He nods. "Kurosaki Ichigo. Good to meet you." He says, an air of gruffness coming off him, his earlier scowl plastered back on his face.

"Kuchiki Rukia. Nice to meet you, too." I say, taking his hand and shaking it briefly.

"So." He says after we stand there for a moment of awkward silence. "Since we go to the same high school, I suppose we could both pay half for the book, and then you can take it home and give it to me when you're finished." I think about this, and then think about how the book's for Hisana, the slowest reader in the world.

I shake my head. "Naw, you can take it first." I say. "It's for my older sister, and she reads really slowly, so you might want to read it first and then give it to me."

"Okay." He says, and takes the book off the shelf. "So, why did you come to get the book for your sister instead of her coming to get it herself?" He asks as we walk up to the cashier, both pulling out half the price of the book.

"Well, she said she was busy, but really it's because she's too lazy to get into her car and drive out here." I answer, taking the receipt.

"You're pretty stupid." He says.

"Did you just call me stupid?" I say, raising my voice indignantly.

"Why yes, I did." He says, raising his voice, too. We walk out of the bookstore after receiving a few angry glares, and then we continue our argument.

"Why in the world did you call me stupid?" I ask, glaring at him.

"Well, it's stupid that you went out to get a book for your sister when she could've gone herself." He says. For some reason, I'm not really mad about him calling me stupid, I'm just reacting this way because it's sort of fun arguing with him.

"Well." I say, turning my back on him and walking back home. "Don't forget that I paid for half of that book. I'll beat the book out of you if I have to."

"Aw, that's not nice." He says, catching up to me and stepping in time with me towards my home. I look at him and see he's wearing a small smile. I smile, too, and speed up.

"Why are you following me?" I ask, wanting to give him a hard time. "Stalker." I say.

"It's polite to walk a girl home." He says. "Though, obviously you know nothing of manners, so I'm not surprised that you're puzzled by my actions." He says, teasing me. I just look up at him and stick my tongue out.

We walk on, getting close to my neighborhood, not saying anything more until I think of something he said earlier and bring it up.

"Hey, earlier you said you know my name's Rukia because my sister called me that." I say, and he nods. "But, how did you know she's my sister?"

"Well, you two look almost exactly the same." He says. "Except she seems taller, shorty."

I ignore his comment on my height and continue to question him. "She could've been my mom." I say.

"No, she's too young. She would've had to be like, twelve when she had you for her to be your mom." He says, and I nod. We arrive in front of my house and stop.

"Well, thanks for walking me home." I say, turning to go inside.

"See ya." He says, and he walks away.

XDXDXDXD

My weekend passes with absolutely nothing interesting happening. The only thing worth mentioning is Hisana complaining about not having her book. Soon, I find myself at school, sitting at my desk before school starts and waiting for the bell to ring.

"Shorty!" I hear someone call. I have a bad feeling it's me being called, so I turn in the direction of the voice. I see Ichigo near the doorway, walking towards me.

"What do _you_ want?" I ask, suppressing a smile. He dumps the book we bought on my desk and sits on top of the desk next to mine.

"You're done already?" I ask. It's a long book, and he doesn't seem like the type to read a lot, so I can't imagine him reading it over the weekend.

"No." He says. "It was for my sister, Yuzu, but it was the wrong book in the series. She needed book two, apparently."

"You're pretty stupid." I say, turning to the window so that he can't see the smile I can't force down.

"Aha," He says. "Very funny. I said it was worthless for you to go get the book for your sister because she could've gone herself. Yuzu was sick, so she couldn't have gone to get it. It's not stupid if you're doing it for someone sick." He explains, and I look back over at him.

"Stupid." I repeat, and he growls.

"I _was_ going to ask you if you'd like to meet some of my friends, as obviously you're totally incapable of making friends on your own, but now I don't think I will." He says, standing up.

"Why? Afraid I'll steal them all from you?" I ask. He stops and turns around, then motions for me to follow. I look at the clock and see that we have ten minutes before class starts, so I follow him out of the classroom and into the hallway. He keeps on walking and goes farther and farther into the school until he gets to the stairs up to the roof.

"Where are we going?" I ask at last.

"Where does it look like we're going?" He asks, opening the door and walking up the stairs. I hesitate, but then my curiosity gets the best of me—I'm curious as to what kind of people Ichigo hangs out with—and I head up the stairs. When up there, I walk over to the big group of people Ichigo's standing by, and my jaw drops. In the very front of this group stands Renji, a scowl on his face as Ichigo introduces me as his new friend.

**I'm thinking of making the chapters longer, but if I do that I won't be able to update as often as I want, and the story won't have as many chapters. I can't decide. If you want to give your opinion, review, and if you don't, then, well, don't review XD Thanks to the people who've added this to their list of favorite stories, it makes me happy to know people like what I write! Sorry that this chapter isn't as long as the other two, I tried to make it the longest, but it came out this length, so… **


	4. Old Memories, New Love?

**Disclaimer: No, I still do not own Bleach. Get it into yo head. **

**About This Chapter: In this chapter there's a sort of emotional understanding between … who? Two people ;P Nothing else really important happens. The rest is really just showing character personality. Enjoy **

XDXDXDXD

Narrator's Point of View

"Ichigo!" Says Renji after pulling his friend away from the large group on the roof. Ichigo had just introduced Rukia to his friends, shocking Renji who can't stand Rukia for no apparent reason. "What's wrong with you?" He asks, and Ichigo raises an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" He asks, looking at Renji like he's insane.

Renji returns the 'you're crazy' look. "Remember the irritating pipsqueak who's new in our class that I told you about Friday?" He asks.

"Yeah, why?" Ichigo asks, not putting together the puzzle pieces and getting annoyed.

"That girl—Rukia—is the irritating pipsqueak!" Renji says, exasperated, obviously having a hard time keeping his voice down. Ichigo seems to think about this for a second, then he turns around and heads back to the group, instantly followed by Renji.

"Accordin' to Renji, you're an irritating pipsqueak." Ichigo says to Rukia, ignoring everyone else. "But…

Rukia's Point of View

"But… Renji's judgment of other people has always been sort of off." Ichigo says, and he walks up to me, sticking out his hand to shake mine.

"Welcome to the club, shorty."

XDXDXDXD

The first few periods of school go by without anything happening. The only thing is Renji looking at me in a funny way—is that… worry? I put it out of my head; what would he have to worry about?

When the lunch bell rings, I stand up, pulling out my lunch—Byakuya made it today, so it should be much better than Fridays food. I see a shadow go over me, and turn around to see Matsumoto, Tatsuki, Orihime and Chizuru standing over me.

"May I help y-" I start, but Matsumoto interrupts me before I can finish.

"How did you do it?" She asks.

"Do what?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"Get Ichigo to be nice to you." Matsumoto says as if this should be obvious.

"Uh, he's anything but nice to me." I say, smiling, thinking of him calling me stupid after just meeting me.

"Yeah, but he said you're his _friend_. That's really nice for Ichigo, you know." Tatsuki says, speaking up. Orihime and Chizuru nod in agreement from behind Matsumoto and Tatsuki.

"Whatever." I say, unable to recall Ichigo calling me his friend. I shrug and grab my lunch, making to eat it in the classroom again.

"Oh no you don't." Matsumoto says, grabbing my elbow and pulling me out of my seat while Tatsuki grabs my lunch. I look at them questioningly. "You're one of us now, apparently. You eat lunch with us." They then proceed to literally drag me onto the roof, where they distribute me with my lunch sack. The rest of the group gradually joins us, until we have everyone sitting around in a big circle. No one speaks at first, and I have a bad feeling it's because of me.

"So." Matsumoto says from my left as I take a drink of juice. "Do you have a boyfriend, Rukia?" She asks me, turning to face me. I spit out my juice and start giggling. Everyone at this point—including Renji—is looking at me.

"No." I say when I'm done whipping my chin off with a napkin that Byakuya packed me.

"A lover then." Tatsuki says from my left, and I laugh again.

"No, I don't have a lover, either." I say, still smiling. Everyone shrugs and turns back to their lunches, and some more conversations start up, different people talking about different things.

"Matsumoto," I hear Chizuru say. "You're not asking the right questions." She says, and she leans around Matsumoto and looks at me.

"So, you don't have a boyfriend, and you don't have a lover, so do you have a girlfriend?" She asks, and everyone stops their conversations to listen to my answer.

"No, I'm not a lesbian." I say, chuckling.

"Chizuru," Renji says from across the circle. "You look sort of disappointed about that." He says, laughing.

"Of course I am!" Chizuru yells at Renji while I blush deep deep red. "She's really cute! Of course I'm upset that every hot girl in school is straight!" She says, taking a bite of an apple and chewing it irritatedly.

"Well," says Mizuiro, who had been silent before this. "Maybe you should try dating some guys instead. I could hook you up with a good date."

"You idiot." Says Keigo, punching Mizuiro on the arm lightly. "She's into girls; she's not going to date a guy just because you tell her to!"

"I wasn't telling her, I was just suggesting…" Mizuiro and Keigo end up arguing silently between themselves about Chizuru, and I turn back to my lunch.

Everyone starts up their own conversations, Matsumoto and Chizuru talking about going to the mall, Ishida and Tatsuki talking about something in low voices that I can't hear, and Ichigo and Renji talking about sports. I smile, knowing that I'm accepted in this group even if no one speaks to me, if not everyone but Renji accepting me. After a little while, Chad and Orihime get up to get something Orihime left in the classroom, though why Chad has to go with her, I don't know.

"WHY?" Keigo yells, startling everyone and making me jump.

"What is it?" Ichigo asks, looking worried.

"Mizuiro has three dates with three _different_ girls this weekend. It's not fair!" Keigo yells, looking irritated.

"It's perfectly fair." Mizuiro says, looking slightly embarrassed that his plans for the weekend have been yelled out for everyone to know.

"It's disgusting, that's what it is." Tatsuki says. "You don't need to have that many dates, let alone with that many people. You're just leading on those girls so you can dump them later." Mizuiro and Tatsuki start arguing now, Tatsuki yelling loudly, Mizuiro talking quietly and calmly.

Someone sits next to me, and I turn to see it's Ichigo, who moved next to me in the confusion.

"Do people argue like this every day?" I ask him, looking deliberately at Tatsuki and Mizuiro.

"No." He says, and I look at him, surprised, and see him smiling. "It's usually much, much worse." He laughs at my expression, and steals Tatsuki's un-open juice box, poking the straw through the top and holding it in his hand but not drinking any, looking like he's just there to enjoy the show.

We sit there for a few minutes, everyone listening to the two fight, cheering each of them on in turn.

"You know." Ichigo says, not taking his eyes off the two fighting. "Matsumoto and Chizuru seem to like you, and Tatsuki and Orihime seem to be getting there. I think that you'll fit in just fine."

I will never admit it to him, but hearing Ichigo say that makes me very happy, and I have to hide my smile.

"Of course I will, Ichigo." I say, stealing the juice box out of his hand and taking a sip, then handing it back to him. "Everyone likes me. Always." I giggle on the inside and finish my lunch, cleaning up just as the bell rings.

XDXDXDXD

I'm sitting in the last period of school, staring at the board, listening to the teacher and taking notes on physics. I'm pretty good at physics, and can enjoy it, but having it last period on a Monday is pretty tough, even for me. I look up at the clock and see that there're only about ten minutes left in class, and I sigh happily. I can take ten minutes. Suddenly Matsumoto, who sits in front of me, stretches her arms back, and she drops a little piece of paper onto my desk. I wonder what's so important that Matsumoto can't wait ten minutes to tell me, and I look around to see if anyone noticed the note. I see Ichigo, who sits at the desk next to mine looking at the piece of paper. He then looks up at me and makes a face that says 'well read it, shorty.' I pick up the piece of paper when the teacher's not looking and read it quickly.

_Friday. Sleepover party my house. Girls stay overnight, boys leave 7-8._

I think about Friday night, thinking if I have any plans, and decide that I'm free. I then think about if Hisana and Byakuya will let me go, and I know they will; they'll be too happy to know that I'm making friends to say no. I pick up my pencil and quickly write a response.

_See u there. Txt me your address._

I write, followed by my cell phone number. I then pick up the piece of paper and stretch forward, dropping the piece of paper onto Matsumoto's desk. About five minutes later—five minutes left in class—I get a text message. Thankfully my phone is on vibrate, so no one notices. I take it out—we have the rest of class to work on homework, so I don't feel bad about texting in class—and see that it's Matsumoto's address already. I smile, thinking about how Matsumoto was texting me in class, too impatient to wait for school to end. I send a quick response, then start back up on my homework, finishing the page of physics questions and a page of math problems in the five minutes left.

XDXDXDXD

"A party?" Hisana asks at the dinner table, sounding for the entire world like she's jealous and wants to come, too.

"Is this party going to be safe?" Byakuya asks, always the worried one.

"It should be. The guys that are coming are leaving before eight, and then it's just girls hanging out. And," I add when Byakuya doesn't seem convinced. "I'm pretty sure Matsumoto's parents are going to be there the whole time."

Byakuya thinks for a minute, taking a bite of an onigiri—the only thing Hisana is capable of making, thus something we eat all the time. "I'll have to come in and meet her parents." He says, and I sigh.

"Ooh, me too!" Hisana sounds, getting excited.

"Okay." I say. "Just please, don't embarrass me." Byakuya and Hisana smile at each other upon hearing this, and I have a bad feeling that embarrassing me is exactly what they plan to do.

XDXDXDXD

It's three o'clock, half an hour before I have to be at Matsumoto's house. I look at myself in the mirror, trying to put my hair into two braids but not entirely succeeding. I'm wearing a plain yellow-orange dress and brown boots, and—at least _I_ think—I look cute.

Hisana walks in and leans against the door frame.

"No alcohol." She says, acting uncharacteristically solemn, and I sigh. "Or drugs." She continues. "And, no kissing." I turn to her and smile.

"Byakuya made you come tell me these things, right?" I ask, and she losses the uptight attitude.

"Yes!" She says, and she runs over to me, yanking my hair out of my hands, braiding it for me. "I hate when he makes me be all serious." She says pouting.

"Yeah." I say. "No one can take you seriously when you're like that though. They all know it's because Byakuya asked you to be like that for whatever reason." She looks at me.

"I'm really that bad of an actress?" She asks, and I laugh at her.

"Yes." I say, replying truthfully. We laugh and sit on my bed, both of us petting Kawaii at the same time.

"But I'm serious. None of those things, okay?" She asks.

"Yeah, I know." I say, and we sit there, saying nothing until Byakuya honks at us to hurry up.

"Oh, yeah." She says, looking like she just remembered something. "I forgot to tell you. Byakuya's waiting out in the car." I roll my eyes, give Kawaii a kiss on the nose, and head out the door with Hisana and into the garage where an irritated looking Byakuya waits in his car.

XDXDXDXD

We get to Matsumoto's house relatively quickly—she lives pretty close—getting there at almost exactly three thirty, just a few minutes after. I get out of the car and head up the driveway to the house, followed by a bouncing Hisana and then an apathetic Byakuya. I ring the doorbell and let Byakuya and Hisana move slightly in front of me.

After a moment, a woman opens the door. She has short, tightly curled orange hair and endowments even bigger than Matsumoto's—yes, I didn't think it was possible, but they are _bigger_.

"Hello." She says, looking at us all. "I'm Matsumoto Rana. You must be Rukia-chan, and her… parents?" She asks, turning the end of the sentence into a question, not sure of how Byakuya and Hisana are related to me.

"Nice to meet you." Says Byakuya. "I am Kuchiki Byakuya, and this is my wife, Kuchiki Hisana. We are Rukia's older siblings, as well as legal guardians." Matsumoto's mother seems surprised to find out that they're my brother and sister, but she doesn't say anything. I look behind her to see Matsumoto, Chizuru, Tatsuki, and Orihime standing there waiting for me. Behind them, outside on a large back porch, I can see all the guys sitting, laughing.

"It's very nice to meet you two." Matsumoto's mother says, smiling politely. "May I help you?"

"We just wanted to meet the parents of Rukia's friend before leaving here, but it's okay now." Byakuya says. I blush at his bluntness, and I can tell that Hisana is also embarrassed by the way she rubs her feet together, but Matsumoto's mom seems un-fazed.

"I completely understand." She says. "Would you like to come in?"

No, no, no, no, please. Just. Say. No! I think.

"No thank you." Byakuya says. "We really must be going. It was nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you." Hisana says. I walk in after hugging Byakuya and Hisana, and Matsumoto's mother closes the door.

"Please tell me if you need anything." She says, and then she leaves.

"RUKIA!" Matsumoto says, running up and hugging me, nearly knocking me over. "Let's go take your bag up to my room, 'kay?" She says, and we all head up to her room.

I have to say, Matsumoto would probably love the color of my room. Everything in her room is pink and fuzzy, including the walls. They are covered in a fuzzy pink cloth that's only a few shades less obnoxious than the color of my room.

"So, only one rule about being here." Matsumoto says, turning to face me. She pulls my bag out of my hand and tosses it with everyone else's. "While you're here, you have to call me Rangiku in front of my parents. When we're just with the group you can call me Matsumoto, it's just that my parents don't think kids should go by their last name, so you have to call me Rangiku in front of them, or else they'll get mad. Other than that, there aren't any rules in this house. Except," She says, looking at my feet. "Could you take your shoes off, please?" She asks, and I nod.

"I tried to when I stepped in, but you attacked me and pulled me up here before I could." I say, smiling. I bend down and pull off my shoes, placing them where Matsumoto points in the corner of her bedroom.

"She can't help it." Tatsuki says, sitting on Matsumoto's bed. "She gets really excited whenever someone comes over." We laugh, at this, and fall into a happy silence.

"Well," Orihime says, and I notice that it's the first time I've heard her speak except for in class when she had to introduce herself. "We should get downstairs. All the guys are waiting for us." We agree and head down the stairs and outside.

XDXDXDXD

It's really amazing how many people Matsumoto's parents let her have over at once. The whole group is staying for dinner, and then all the girls are staying overnight. We have a few hours before dinner, so we all sit outside, playing board and card games and listening to music.

Ichigo moves over to sit next to me.

"Hey." He says. "You look nice." He says this gruffly and without looking at me, so I can tell he's embarrassed.

"Thanks." I say, trying not to sound too pleased. "You too." He's wearing a white t shirt with black sleeves and jeans, and it really does look good on him.

"You having fun?" He asks after a moment.

"Yeah." I say, laughing to see Renji punch Keigo for hitting on Matsumoto. Keigo isn't hurt—he's used to it—but I can't help but feel slightly guilty for laughing. I'm surprised to see Tatsuki sitting on Ishida's lap, her arms wrapped around his neck—I suppose opposites really _do_ attract.

I look over at Keigo and see he's still lying on his back the way he landed after Renji punched him. Everyone's ignoring him, but I start to feel worried, so I get up and stand near his head, looking down at him.

"Are you okay?" I ask, and for some reason everyone stops talking to listen to his answer.

"Well, if you stood _over _my head I'd be better, but I'm fine." He answers.

It takes me a second, but I understand. I lean down and punch him in the same spot Renji did, then walk over and sit back down next to Ichigo while everyone laughs.

"Don't worry." Ichigo says, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I'll protect you." He then winks at me and pushes me over. I sit back up and push him back, but I can't even make him budge.

I'm still trying to push over Ichigo—who is at this point laughing his head off—when Matsumoto, who had been watching us, stands up quickly. She goes over to Tatsuki and bends down to whisper something in her ear. Tatsuki smiles and nods, and then she stands up, too.

"Come on, girls." Says Tatsuki.

"We're going inside to play truth-or-dare." Finishes Matsumoto. I stand up, along with Chizuru and Orihime. We walk inside and sit down in the living room. I notice that we can see the backyard through a window. Ichigo and Keigo are wrestling, but Ichigo is going easy on Keigo; Ichigo could beat Keigo in a second if he wanted to.

We play truth or dare for half an hour without any really interesting questions or dares. The most interesting thing was Tatsuki asking Chizuru how long she'd known she was a lesbian, to which Chizuru had answered 'always'.

I'm about to suggest that we quit when I realize that it's my turn. Deciding to give it one more shot, I stupidly choose dare. Tatsuki and Matsumoto mumble to each other, then they look back at me, smiling.

"We dare you—" Says Matsumoto.

"—To kiss Ichigo." Tatsuki finishes.

"What?" Yells Chizuru, jumping off the couch. "That's a horrible idea!"

"I don't think—" I start, but Chizuru cuts me off.

"See? She doesn't want to. Let's move on. I choose truth."

"Actually," I say. "I was going to say that I don't think it's that big a problem."

"WHAT?" The four of them say at the same time. I can tell that even Matsumoto and Tatsuki weren't planning on me following through with the dare.

"Yeah." I say, working not to laugh at their faces. "You can watch me through the window if you don't believe me." I say as I walk out of the room and onto the back porch.

I walk off the porch and into the backyard, motioning for Ichigo to come over.

"What?" He asks when he gets over.

"Matsumoto and Tatsuki dared me to kiss you." I say, and I can tell that the guys on the porch can't hear me.

"BUT." I say, cutting him off when he opens his mouth. "They didn't specify _where_ I have to kiss you. Hold out your hand."

He takes up his hand, putting it in my outstretched one. He looks half confused and half like he understands what's going on, so I can't tell which is true.

I take up his index finger, kissing it. I drop it immediately, making a show of wiping off my lips while he makes a show of wiping off his finger.

I look up at the porch and see that all the guys are staring at us, confused. I walk up past them without a word, going back inside, back to a disappointed Matsumoto, a peeved Tatsuki, an ecstatic Chizuru, and an Orihime that looks just as confused as the guys outside who know absolutely nothing about what's going on.

XDXDXDXD

Narrator's Point of View

"Hisana." Byakuya says, pulling his wife down so that she's sitting on his lap. He hugs her, putting his face into her neck, where they stay like that for a bit.

"Yes, Byakuya?" She says, not moving from the position.

"I'm worried about Rukia. Is that stupid? Am I being over-protective? You know I don't want to act like one of those stifling parents, but I can't really help it." He says into her neck. She picks up his head with her hands and looks him straight in the eyes, not blinking once.

"It's not stupid. It's sweet and loving." She says firmly but lovingly. "Even though she doesn't say it, I know that Rukia is happy that you care for her so much as to worry about her when all she's doing is going to a sleep-over." She kisses him, closing her eyes, and then stands up, pulling him with her.

"Come on. Let's go make dinner." She says, pulling her husband into the kitchen. "How about some onigiri?" She asks, and he smiles at his wife's small choice of options of things she can make.

"I want sukiyaki." He says, sounding a bit like a little boy talking to his mother.

"Well then." She says, and she kisses him again. "You're going to have to make that."

XDXDXDXD

Rukia's Point of View

We finish up dinner on the patio—yakiniku—right as the sun goes down.

"I'm not cleaning up." Says Renji as everyone stands and grabs something to take into the kitchen. I try to stand up, but Matsumoto pushes me down.

"This is your first time here." She says. "You can't help until your second or third time." I smile at her and settle back into my chair, handing her my plate and thanking her.

When everyone but Renji and I are inside, he turns to me and sighs.

"I need to have a serious conversation with you." He says, sounding the most serious I've ever heard him.

I consider being sarcastic to loosen the tension, but then I look into his eyes and can tell that that will only make him like me less, which is not something I want to do.

"Okay." I end up saying, holding his gaze.

"I need to tell you that I'm sorry I was mean to you, but I have serious reasons." He starts, and then pauses. I don't say anything, even though I know he's waiting for me to talk. He sighs again, but then continues. "I don't like new kids for one reason: They're always mean to Ichigo." I almost scoff at this—people being mean to Ichigo is something I need to see to believe. He's so scary and mean looking that I can't imagine anyone having the guts to say anything disrespectful to him—unless it's about his hair color. Instead, I just keep silent again.

"They're always mean by making fun of him for looking unhappy and scowling all the time. I know," He says when I make a face. "We _always_ make fun of him for looking unhappy and scowling. But we're his _friends_, and we know why. Those people just do it for fun.

"I want to tell you why he's always looking like that." He continues. He takes a sip of water as if he's tiring out by telling this story.

"When Ichigo was nine, his mother was run over by a car while pushing him out of the way. She died saving him, and, to this day, he feels as if he killed her. The man—or woman—who ran over his mom was never caught, so Ichigo feels like he's the only one who can take the blame." He stops here, and I stare at him. I notice that my breathing became hard at some point during his story, and I have to take a sip of water myself to calm down.

"So, you're saying," I start, but I can't finish.

"Yeah." He says. "That's why he's always like that. Because, in his mind, he killed his mother."

As if on cue, everyone walks out right after he says that, and I see Renji smile brightly at the big group of teenagers. I try to smile, but I can't.

"Rukia, what's wrong?" Matsumoto asks me, checking my forehead to see if I have a fever.

I try to smile again, but like before I can't.

"Uh, nothing." I say, seeing Renji shoot me a warning glance. "I just need to use your restroom. Can you point it out to me?" I ask, and I head to the room Matsumoto points out to me. When in the bathroom with the door tightly closed and locked, I bend over the open toilet and puke out my meal, unable to hold it in.

While I kneel there, retching, memories that haven't stirred up in over a year pass through my mind. I remember that dark, evil day when Hisana and I went over to Byakuya's house, sobbing. I was six then, but I remember it as if it was yesterday. The memories that will haunt me forever.

**I just realized that I must seem like a total dork writing "…'s point of view" instead of "…'s POV". Hey, I'm new to this -_-**

**I hate when you're writing a fan fiction, and you have a certain number of words you want to write, and it's like, 'only 1,200 words left; only 1,100 words left; only 1,000 words left -_-' That happened to my, except it started at 2,000. I was then like, 'Only—whoa! 2,700 words! That's way past my goal!' (Goal=2,200 words). Happy face (There are 4,489 words in this chapter.)**

**Please review! Like, seriously. Review. Now. Click. The. Button. NOWXDXDXDXD **

**I also wanted to add that while writing this I have discovered that Matsumoto's name is **_**REALLY IRRITATING**_** to write.**

_**REALLY IRRITATING.**_


	5. Bad Dreams, Bad Emotions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. No witty comments in this chapter; it's supposed to be solemn and stuff…**

**Warning: This chapter is going to be really short, maybe not even 1,000 words. But don't worry! I'm going to post the next chapter today, too, so it doesn't really matter; I just want this chapter and the next chapter to be separate.**

**About this chapter: It explains the bad memories that made Rukia puke. Nuff said.**

The boys leave soon after dinner, leaving us girls alone to do what we want. Thankfully, we decide on watching a movie, and Orihime falls asleep halfway through, so we get to go to bed at around nine. That's pretty early for a sleepover with five girls, but I'm happy about it. My stomach is still upset from earlier, and all I can think about is Renji's story.

_She died saving him… only one to blame… in his mind… he killed his mother._

I shiver and sit on the bed. Matsumoto and Tatsuki are laughing about something while brushing their teeth, and Chizuru is tucking Orihime into bed. I pull off my dress and put on my pajamas, then take out my braids. I brush my hair and then get into bed next to Matsumoto. We can all fit comfortably in her bed, so we're all sleeping together. I turn on my side, listening to Matsumoto, Tatsuki, and Chizuru giggling and whispering, and I fall asleep.

XDXDXDXD

"_Mommy! Daddy!" I yell out into the house. "We're home from grocery shopping." I run into the living room where they always wait for us when we go out. I hear Hisana coming up the hallway behind me. I enter the living room, expecting to be swept off my feet into a bear hug by my dad, but instead am greeted by a sight that makes me scream._

_Hisana rushes in, and drops the groceries all over the floor._

"_Get back." She says. "Go into the bathroom and lock yourself there. Don't open up the door unless it's me, okay?" She says, and I do what she tells me. I don't know how, but she sounds so calm that I feel like maybe what I'm seeing is a lie, it's not real. Maybe by going into the bathroom, I'll come out and this will all be gone._

_I stand in the bathroom and listen to Hisana on the phone._

"_Yes, two dead. The television is paused on the news. Yes, the story on that serial killer. Thank you." She says. I hear her pull open the knife drawer in the kitchen, and then hear her go up the stairs, obviously looking to see if the killer is still here. I sit in the bathroom, and finally the truth rushes over me. The truth that Hisana, just because she's calm, doesn't mean that she can make them better. It doesn't mean that they'll come back. I start to sob, and hear Hisana come back down the stairs. She puts the knife back into the drawer and walks over to the bathroom._

"_Open up, it's me, Rukia." She says. I unlock the door and she kneels down next to me. I cry into her, letting her soak up my sorrow, and she cries back into me. The police get here and question us, but I'm not really sure exactly what they ask us. I remember answering, but what either myself or the police officer say is a mystery. _

_After they talk to us, they take pictures of the room, then they take the cut up, disfigured bodies out into the ambulances they brought with them. Some officer—the one that asked me questions—asks Hisana if they can do autopsies on the dead bodies. She says yes, and I wonder about what that big word means. He then asks if he can take us anywhere, and Hisana nods, telling him the address of her boyfriend, Byakuya's house. She runs upstairs and gets some clothes, then runs back down, and I can see that she's started crying again. The officer drives us to Byakuya's house, where he explains to Byakuya everything that's happened while Hisana and I cry some more. Byakuya takes us in under his wing, and there we've stayed._

"Rukia! You're awake!" Matsumoto says, sounding relieved. I blink, trying to adjust my eyes to the bright room, and see a bunch of people standing over me. There's Matsumoto, Tatsuki, Orihime, Chizuru, Matsumoto's mom, a man I've never seen before who has a square jaw and dark hair, and last, to my great embarrassment, Ichigo. They all look worried, and they all try to help me when I sit up.

"What's going on?" I ask quietly.

"You started screaming and thrashing around, and you wouldn't wake up!" Matsumoto says. "We were so worried that we called Kurosaki-sensei here to check on you." I look between Ichigo and his father, and can see a slight family resemblance. He must look more like his mom, I think, which then reminds me why I was dreaming about what I dreamed about.

I feel my face go deep red, and I look down at the bed. "I'm so sorry." I say quietly.

"Why say sorry?" Asks Kurosaki-sensei while he checks my forehead for a fever. He then moves a light in front of my eyes to check something or other, making me look at his finger while he does so.

"I didn't want to cause any trouble." I say. Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy.

"Rukia-chan, we were worried for you. You don't need to say sorry. We're just happy you woke up." Says Matsumoto's mom.

I smile at her and then look at Kurosaki-sensei.

"I think you'll be fine." He says. "Call me if anything else happens. Matsumoto-san, please, if I may have a word with you. Come, Ichigo." He leaves with Matsumoto's mom, but Ichigo stays where he is. He walks over closer to me, and the girls move away as if they want to leave us alone, though I can tell that they're listening with all their might to hear what Ichigo has to say.

"I'm sorry." I say for the second time in however many minutes. "You didn't need to get up out of bed just for me." I say.

He smiles at me sadly. "I was worried, there's no way I could've stayed at home." He moves my bangs out of my eyes and tucks them behind my ear. "Renji told you." It isn't a question, it's a statement. I nod, starting to cry, and he turns around and walks out. I want to call after him, maybe chase him down the hall, though I don't know what I'd do after that if I did.

**So, that was a sad chapter. Or, at least, it was supposed to be, I don't know if anyone else found it sad… Next chapter will be better and happier, I promise.**

**Please review! Now! Press that sexy review button!**


	6. New Story, Good Time

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Never have, never will. It is all Tite Kubo's (that lucky manXD)**

**About this chapter: In this chapter something really happy happens, and by really happy I mean really sad! **

XDXDXDXD

I brace myself before getting out of the car. I take in a big breath and hold it, then let it out in a long exhale. I look out and see my large group of friends, all of them staring at the tinted windows of Byakuya's car as if they're trying to see through.

"Are you okay? Are you feeling sick?" Asks Byakuya, absently putting a hand on my forehead. He's done this so many times this weekend that it's not surprising that he can check my temperature and tell if it's gone up or down without really thinking about it. Ichigo's dad, Kurosaki-sensei, called Byakuya and Hisana as soon as he could, even with the early hour. They have been fussing over me all weekend since I got home on Saturday morning. It's nice to know they care, but they should understand what happened to me; it happened every night for a year after my parents died, so they should really be used to it now, even if it hasn't happened in over two years.

"I'm fine." I say brushing away his hand gently. "I just really don't want to face my friends. What if they think I'm weird?" I ask. I hear the bell signaling the beginning of school ring, and I move to open the door, but Byakuya stops me.

"Rukia, they won't think you're weird. I haven't met them yet, but with the way you talk about them they all seem like good friends. If it's really bad, then consider telling them your story. They'll listen, and then they'll understand." He hugs me tightly, then hands me my bag. "I'll see you later, Rukia." I get out of the school, already thinking of things to tell my teacher about why I'm late.

I look up and am shocked to see the whole group standing there. Everyone else went inside so not to be late, but all my friends waited for me.

"What are you guys doing?" I ask them.

"What does it look like we're doing?" Asks Ichigo. "We're waiting for you, so you'd better hurry your butt up this second. Idiot."

I smile a small smile, then I change my face to that of someone extremely irritated and exasperated.

"Well, that was stupid." I say, walking forward. "Who ever said that _I _wanted to walk with_ you_ people?"

Everyone laughs, and Renji ruffles up my hair, letting me know that our former stiffness towards each other is gone. Then, Ichigo does something that shocks me to the core: he grabs my hand, and holds it the whole way back to the classroom; I don't resist him.

XDXDXDXD

"Where have you all been?" Sensei asks, getting mad at us. Her eyes pause on mine and Ichigo's hands, but then flashes angrily back up at our faces.

"Chill. We were just waiting for Rukia to get to school. No need to worry." Renji says, scratching the back of his head lazily.

"Oh." She says, the anger draining from her eyes. "That's fine then. Go ahead and take your seats." Our sensei doesn't really care too much about lateness or school skipping. Her anger in the beginning was actually most likely an act. We all take our seats while the other students look at us, whispering slightly. Ichigo and I keep our hands together until we sit down, at which point we split apart. I smile to myself and take out my calculus homework, handing it to our sensei while she walks by.

XDXDXDXD

School has gone by, the first periods gone and done, and I haven't been paying attention at all. I've been thinking about what Byakuya said in the car before school about telling my friends about my parents. They have all by now, without a doubt, heard about what happened Friday night, and as they all seem to still accept me, I think they deserve to know about my parents. The only question mark is on whether or not _I _will be capable of _telling_ them. I haven't talked about it to anyone. In nine years, I haven't told a soul.

While I think about this, the lunch bell rings, and I try to rush my choice. I'm about to make my final decision when Matsumoto, Tatsuki, Orihime and Chizuru walk over.

"Upsy-daisy, Rukia." Matsumoto says, pulling me up while Tatsuki goes through my bag, pulling out my lunch.

"I won't be needing that." I tell Tatsuki; if I'm going to tell everyone about my parents—which I'm still not sure I will—then I won't be able to keep down a drop of water, let alone a whole lunch. She shrugs and puts it back into my bag.

We walk up to the roof slowly, not saying a word. I feel awkward for the first time in a while when in their company, but I still don't try to break the silence; I can't think of anything good to say.

We get up onto the roof and I see that—for once—everyone is on the roof before us. This is strange, because usually our little group of girls is the first to get up here. I look around and see that everyone is looking at me expectantly. They all know, after my scene at Matsumoto's house, that there is something about my life that I'm hiding from them, keeping secret from my friends. Everyone is sitting around, and Matsumoto, Chizuru, Orihime and Tatsuki go and join them, leaving me standing by the entrance alone.

I sigh, and sit down. In a rush, I make the decision to tell them everything. I look around at everyone, but they avoid my gaze for some reason. All except Ichigo. He holds my gaze, and then, after about a minute of us looking at each other, he gets up, scowling deeply, and moves to sit next to me, taking my hand again.

"When we were about six, there was a serial killer at large." I say, starting my story. "They nicknamed him 'the grater', because when he was done with his victims, their skin looked like it had been grated and then stuck back on them. Do any of you remember hearing of him?" Some people—including Ichigo—nod, telling me that they remember, while other people shake their heads, telling me they don't know of 'the grater'. No one talks.

"When I was six—it was actually only a few weeks after my birthday, February 4th to be exact—my parents were killed by 'the grater'. I came home from the store one day with Hisana, my older sister, and they were there, sitting in their chairs, their bodies shredded to pieces."

I gasp, a memory suddenly coming to me—_their skin scarcely sticks to their bones. Blood is dripping from their millions of cuts, flowing everywhere. It's still fresh, the blood still completely liquid. The television is paused, stuck on the news, flashing a picture of the killer-at-large, 'THE GRATER'. It says his name in large, capital letters. I look back at their faces, and can't even tell if it's them. The only thing that resembles my parents is the hair. It is matted in blood, but it is, no doubt, their raven-black hair, the hair that I have, the hair that Hisana has; the very same._

I come back to the present, looking up to see everyone looking at me, worried. I feel Ichigo squeeze my hand reassuringly, and I give it a squeeze back, flashing him a small smile.

"After that," I say, continuing on with my story after a moment in which I take a few calming breaths. "Hisana and I moved in with Byakuya, her boyfriend-now-husband. We've lived together ever since. They're my legal guardians, so they're sort of like my parents _and_ my siblings." I try to make it obvious that my story is over, but no one says anything. I wasn't expecting applause or anything, but I expected someone to say _something._ The rest of our lunch period goes without anyone talking and without anyone eating another bite—everyone throws away what remained of their food. It also goes without Ichigo letting go of my hand. Not for a second. If he'd tried this three days ago, I would've tried to push him over—most likely without success. But now, now that we know each other's stories, I feel like we're closer, and like us holding each other's hands is just a way to let each other know that we understand.

XDXDXDXD

The end-of-school bell just rang, and I'm starting to collect my things and put them in my bag. Before I can move, everyone—Renji, Matsumoto, Keigo, Mizuiro, Chizuru, Tatsuki, Orihime, Chad, and Ishida- come over and hug me, enveloping me in a huge group hug. When they dismiss, they don't say anything, but they really don't need to. I understand from the unspoken words that they feel my sorrow, and the burden I carry, and I feel as if they're all willing to take part of that burden and put it on their own shoulders.

They each leave one at a time, the teacher and other students having left before the whole group hug, until the only people left in the classroom are myself and Ichigo, the only person who didn't hug me with the rest of my friends. He sits on his desk, hands together on his lap, and looks at me for the longest time. I'm about to ask what his problem is when he opens his mouth and starts talking.

"I want to go out with you." He says bluntly, and—surprisingly—without embarrassment.

"Excuse me?" I ask, looking at him, trying to tell if he's joking or if he's serious.

"Will you go out with me?" He asks again, and I can tell that he's serious.

I think for a minute, looking at him. I think of Byakuya—there's no way he'll agree. I smirk to myself—well then, I'll just have to make it so that he has no time to say no, I think.

"Will _you_ be there?" I ask, making it seem like the idea disgusts me. I want to say yes, but I also don't want to seem too eager.

"Of course I'll be there, shorty. It's a date, there has to be more than one person." He says, and I can tell that he understands what I'm doing, and that I've practically already agreed to go.

I sigh dramatically. "If I _have _to." I say. "When were you thinking? I don't want to wait too long."

"Oh, and why is that?" He asks, and I realize what I said, and how it must sound in his ears.

"Don't flatter yourself. I just want to have this date soon so I can get it over with." I say, turning around and putting the rest of my things in my bag. I hear him chuckle, and I smile myself.

"Okay, soon, soon, soon." Ichigo says in a thoughtful tone of voice. "How about tonight?" He asks.

"Tonight?" I ask. "On a school night? Is that really okay?" I think of my homework, and then I think about being on a date with Kurosaki Ichigo. Okay, the date wins without a fight, but I'll still have homework when I get back. "Okay." I say, and he seems surprised, almost like his plans for asking me out are going a lot smoother than expected. "When and where."

"I'll pick you up, and, hm…" he goes off into silence, thinking, and I laugh at him.

"You mean to tell me that you asked me out without knowing where you're going to take me?" He looks down at me—I notice that he's right; compared to him, I really _am_ a shorty—and he nods.

"Well," he says. "I don't want to take you somewhere _too_ special." I scoff at this, but don't say anything to interrupt his thinking process. "I could take you to that yakisoba place a few blocks away from Matsumoto's. Have you been there?" He asks, and I shake my head.

"No, but I love yakisoba." I say, hinting that it's the type of place I'd like to go, hoping he doesn't change his mind.

"Okay. When should I pick you up?"

XDXDXDXD

The whole way home from school I'm worried that Byakuya will be able to tell that I'm nervous, jittery, even a little flustered, but if he notices, he doesn't say anything.

"How was your day?" He asks after a little while of silence, and I'm actually surprised that he hasn't asked sooner.

"Fine." I say, my voice cracking, thinking about my date with Ichigo.

"Are your friends still talking to you?" He asks, and I nod. "Well, that's good." He says, I can tell he knows there's something I'm not telling him, but he doesn't question into it, and I don't give him information.

When we get home, I run inside, ignoring Hisana's greeting and questions on my day. I go into my bedroom, throw down my bag, and open up my closet, ignoring Kawaii, who's sitting there, wagging his tail. I throw open my closet door and start rummaging around, and I hear my door open.

"Rukia?" Comes Hisana's voice. I take a second to pop my head out of the closet to show that I'm still alive, and then I go back to work trying to find the perfect outfit. I pull out a pink dress and try it on in front of my mirror. I decide it's too skimpy for a first date, so I hurry back into the closet, pulling it off, all the time being watched by Hisana. I next pull out a red dress and try it on in front of the mirror, but this time it's far too formal; it's the type of dress I wear to work parties Byakuya and Hisana's bosses might hold. I go into the closet again, this time pulling out a dark blue dress. It hugs my body but it's not too tight, it's casual, but not sloppily so, and it's cute without being flashy. In other words, it's perfect. I go in and pull out some black knee-high boots and start pulling them on when Hisana straightens up suddenly.

"You're going on a date!" She yells loudly. "You're going on a date!" She starts chanting this while dancing around in circles. I hear something heavy being dropped downstairs, and then Byakuya's footsteps running up the stairs.

"Byakuya!" Hisana says excitedly when he gets up the stairs. "Rukia's going on a date!"

"Not my dau—not my little sister." He says, frowning. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asks, and I can tell that he's hurt.

"Because I didn't want you to say no." I say quietly, looking down at my feet.

"Who is it?" He asks.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. He's my friend." I say, looking up at Byakuya and Hisana.

"From school?" He says, and I nod.

"I have to meet him first." He says, and I nod vigorously. "And he has to tell me where he intends on taking you." He leaves after he says this, and when she's sure he can't hear us anymore, Hisana starts to squeal.

"Oh my gosh! Is he cute? Does he have a nice body? Is he a bad boy? Or is he more calm and intelligent? Is he a nerd? A jock? How'd you meet? Is—" I try to answer each question (yes, yes, sorta, not so calm, but pretty smart, no, not really, at the bookstore…) until she's content.

"Okay." She says. "Let's get you dolled up!" She helps me put my hair into two loose buns, one on each side of my head, my bangs falling down naturally, and then helps me pick out a necklace to wear. It's a silver chain, and on it is a silver crescent moon with a star attached to it.

I hear Ichigo knock on the door, and try to run and answer, but I don't get there in time—Byakuya reaches the door before me. He opens it up and steps outside, closing the door behind him. I run back up to Hisana, who's sitting on my bed, petting a dejected-looking Kawaii. I suddenly feel nervous—not just because I'm going on my first date, and with a _really_ cute guy, at that, but because I have no idea what Byakuya is saying to him right now.

"Help." I say to Hisana. She looks up at me questioningly. "Byakuya's outside with Ichigo, and—" before I can say anything else, Hisana rushes out the of my bedroom and down the stairs without a word. She is obviously as worried as me. I hear the door open and then close again, and I hold my breath until it opens again a few minutes later.

"You can come down now, Rukia." Byakuya calls from down the stairs. I let out my breath and check myself in the mirror. Seeing that I look fine, I walk down the stairs. I see that Ichigo looks normal—at least, he's not bloody and bruised, and he doesn't _seem_ black-mailed—and I see that he actually looks really good. He's wearing jeans as usual, but he has a white button-up long sleeve shirt with thin pink and purple stripes. He smiles at me and I hurry up, ready to go.

"Good job, Rukia!" Hisana says when I reach the bottom of the steps. "He's really cute!" She smiles and gives me a thumbs-up, while Byakuya scowls and Ichigo and I blush.

"Okay. Bye!" I say, trying to run out of the house.

"Not so fast." Byakuya says. I stop and turn around, worried. "You have to be home by ten." He says, and then he lets us go reluctantly. They see us off down the driveway, waving, Hisana's arms wrapped around Byakuya's waist. They go back inside when we're at the bottom of the driveway, and I let out an audible breath of relief.

"Thank god they're gone!" I say, then I turn to Ichigo, who smiles at me brightly. He seems to have dropped the irritated attitude for our date.

"We're walking to the restaurant. Is that okay?" He asks me, and I nod.

"That sounds fun!" I say. We walk for a while in silence, though it's not an awkward silence. At some point he grabs onto my hand, but I'm not sure exactly when. After a few minutes I realize that we're walking away from the area Matsumoto's house is in, and he's said that the restaurant was a few blocks away from there.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you." He says, scratching the back of his neck in an embarrassed way.

"We're going to the park to kill some time before dinner." He says, and I smile. The park sounds really nice, though I have trouble picturing the two of us walking through it hand-in-hand.

We walk to the park, and when we get there it's empty. I haven't been to a park in years, so when we get there I feel a childish excitement. Ichigo seems to notice this because he suddenly runs towards the playground, pulling me with him. He then puts me on the tire swing and proceeds to spin my around until I'm dizzy. I get up and start to fall back, but he catches me.

"Whoa there!" He says, straightening me up. When the world stops spinning, we walk around the park, talking about homework.

I ask him how long Tatsuki and Ishida have been dating, and he says that it's pretty recent.

"You can imagine how surprised we were when we found out!" He says, laughing at some old memory. "It was even more of a surprise than Chad and Orihime." After the topic of dating has come up, we go into an awkward silence.

"So," we both say at the same time.

"Please, go ahead." Ichigo says, motioning with his free hand.

"No, you." Say motioning back at him.

"I was just going to say that we should head out to the restaurant now if we want to beat the crowd." He says.

"Okay." I say, and we start walking out of the park and in the direction of the restaurant.

"What were _you_ going to say?" He asks after a moment.

"Oh, nothing." I say, blushing.

"No, tell me." He says, and I nod.

"I was just wondering why you asked me out." I ask quietly, embarrassed.

"Well, because you're cute, and I like you." He says without thinking, and we both blush.

XDXDXDXD

The yakisoba restaurant is really small and cute, and it really only sells yakisoba. Ichigo orders his favorite one, getting one for both of us, and I go into the bathroom to make sure that my hair still looks good after all of the spinning. When I get back out, I sit across from Ichigo and look around. I soon become completely lost for words seeing the other people eating at the restaurant.

Our whole group of friends from school, it seems, decided that they wanted to be there to see our first date play out.

XDXDXDXD

"I can't believe them." Ichigo says as we walk back to my house after a filling meal, still hand in hand. "I didn't know they would do this. I'm sorry." Our group of friends didn't say a word to us the whole time. They tried not to acknowledge us at all, but it was still weird being surrounded by all of our friends on our first date.

"It's okay. It's actually kind of funny." I say.

"I'm going to _kill_ Renji next time I see him." Ichigo says as if he didn't hear me.

I smile, but don't try to tell him it's okay again. I'll just let him cool down.

It's nine thirty, and we're reaching my house fast. I'm actually really upset that our date is over. It was really fun. I haven't had so much fun since a month before I moved to Karakura Town, which is a long while.

When we reach my street, I stop, making Ichigo stop. He turns around and looks at me. "I don't want to go home." I say.

He raises his eyebrows and laughs.

"We only have half an hour, and it's already dark. There's not much we can do." He says, still chuckling.

I frown, trying to think of something we can do in less than thirty minutes.

I'm standing there, thinking, when Ichigo walks up to me and grabs my hands. Suddenly, he bends down—oh how far he has to bend down!—and kisses me. I don't even need to think before kissing him back, wrapping my arms around his neck.

I'll spare the details, but the kiss becomes quite intense, and we only break apart when we need air. Yes, I think I'll keep those details for myself, thanks.

"Let's get you home." He says, grabbing my hand and heading for my house down the road.

XDXDXDXD

"How was your date?" Hisana asks while Byakuya looks at me.

I smile dreamily and reply.

"It was lovely." I say, and then I walk up the stairs and into my room, where I get ready for bed, brushing my teeth last of all.

Narrator's Point of View

"Did she just say lovely?" Byakuya asks his wife, taking a sip of hot tea out of a mug.

Hisana shrugs, then smiles to herself.

_She just had her first kiss._ She thinks, and her smile widens.

**Haha, in case you hadn't figured it out, I was lying about the sad, and was telling the truth about the happy. I mean, it's sorta sad when Rukia tells everyone about her parents, but still, I mean, come on. The happy **_**way**_** overdoes that amount of sad, at least in my mind.**

**This is going to sound totally dorky, but, while writing this I wondered 'Where do Ichigo and his friends eat lunch when it's rainy, or what about when it snows?' These are the types of things I think of. All. Day. Long.**

**I'm sorry if there weren't too many details about what they talked about on their date. The chapter was getting long, so I wanted to try and end it soon. If they go on another date then I'll try and make more conversation.**

**I must tell you, my readers, that school starts soon for me, so I won't be able to update nearly as much. I'm very sorry; just know that I'll write as much as I can.**


	7. Old Cliché, Cute Moment

**Disclaimer:**

**About this chapter: Sorry about this totally-cliché chapter—I can't help it .! I read Romeo and Juliet last year in school—the ONLY good thing about ninth grade!—and so I can't **_**not**_** (double negativeXD) make a chapter like this. I do apologize to any cliché-haters—you're just going to have to deal.**

XDXDXDXD

I'm brushing my hair, about to get into bed, thinking about the date I just had with Ichigo, and, more importantly, the _kiss_ I had with Ichigo. He's actually a really good kisser, I think, and then giggle. I'm about to lie in bed when Kawaii starts to bark.

"Shush." I tell him, trying to sound fierce in my happy mood.

He doesn't stop barking, so I go over and pick him up; he's standing on my balcony, which reminds me that I need to close my balcony doors before going to sleep. I start to close my balcony doors, petting Kawaii underneath his ear in a way that always calms him down, when I see a pebble land on my balcony.

"Rukia!" I hear a voice come from the backyard.

I go out into the hall and look down the stairs and see that the lights are off, meaning that Byakuya and Hisana are in bed, then I rush back out onto the balcony, leaving Kawaii on my bed. I look down to have my suspicions confirmed; Ichigo is standing in my backyard, throwing pebbles onto my balcony.

"What do you want?" I hiss at him, not seeing the romance as most other girls would. I'm too worried about Byakuya hearing us and killing him to see the romance.

"I just wanted to say hi." He says innocently, rubbing his toes together like a preschooler who got caught doing something bad.

I have to smile at this, but I hide it again quickly.

"You couldn't have texted me that?" I ask him, leaning on the railing, looking at him standing there. I'm suddenly self-conscious about if I look good enough.

"It wouldn't have seemed sincere if I'd _texted_ it." He says, again in his innocent tone of voice. I roll my eyes.

"Is that all?" I ask, picking up Kawaii, who had jumped off my bed and scurried over to see what all the commotion is about. I quickly start to scratch underneath his ear again so that he doesn't start barking again.

"No." Ichigo says, looking up at me. "Is that a dog?" He asks, and I roll my eyes again.

"No, it's a unicorn." I say.

"What's his name?" He asks, and I feel pleased that he cares enough to ask, even though that is most everyone's reaction to meeting a new pet.

"His name is Kawaii." I say, smiling proudly.

"Kawaii." He repeats. "I don't want to sound redundant, but that's a really cute name." I laugh quietly, then go and put Kawaii back on my bed—he's falling asleep again.

I walk back out to the balcony and look down, seeing that Ichigo is still there.

"What's the other thing you wanted to tell me?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"Oh, right!" He says, and I shush him—I'm still slightly worried about Byakuya coming and killing Ichigo.

"Sorry." He says quietly.

"Anyway." He says, looking up at me, and I can see him blushing. "I just wanted to tell you that you were beautiful tonight. I forgot to tell you earlier."

I blush deeply, and can tell that my face is probably redder than a tomato.

"Thou knowest the mask of night is on my face," I say, a quote from Romeo and Juliet popping into my head. "Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek.******"

"Naw." He says, ruining the moment. "I can actually see you blushing. Short idiot."

I stick my tongue out at him and turn around.

"Good night, Rukia." He says.

"Good night, Ichigo."

**I know, I know, cheesy and clichéd. I can't help it; I **_**am **_**a teenage girl, after all.**

**** Shakespeare, The Most Excellent and Lamentable tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 85-86**

**I know that this chapter is suuuper duuuuuper short, but it gets the job done. It's just a non-important IchiRuki moment I wanted to add in. Hope you liked it! Please review! Ichigo will cry if you don't. (Does Ichigo cry?) Never mind. Someone else more likely to cry will cry if you don't review this. (That's better.) **


	8. New Friends, New Couples

**Disclaimer: To all those eejits out there who still think that I might own Bleach… I don't!**

**About this chapter: In **_**this**_** chapter, I introduce my favorite character. But, I introduce **_**two**_** new characters, you say? Well, one of them is my favorite character, and the other isn't, plain and simple, only you**_**, **_**yes, **_**you, **_**my reader, will have to try and figure out which character is my favorite, and which one **_**isn't.**_** Don't worry, though! You an idiot who can't figure it out? (jk, jk, that doesn't make you stupid) Again, no worries! I'm going to write who it is in my next chapter! YAY! **

XDXDXD

Shinji's Point of View

This'll be gas.

Hitsugaya's Point of View

He's going to enjoy this far too much.

Rukia's Point of View

I get out of Byakuya's car as soon as possible, barely waiting for it to come to a full stop before opening up the door and stepping out. Things have been slightly awkward between us since my date with Ichigo. I don't know why, but it really upset him that I didn't tell him about it right when I saw him after school. I've tried apologizing, but whenever I do he just says that it's fine, and then he continues acting the same.

I run up to my group of friends—I'm always the last person to get to school, and they've taken to waiting for me. Ichigo comes to meet me and grabs my hand, then walks with me up to our other friends.

Renji looks at me grumpily, rubbing the back of his head like someone had just hit him there really hard.

"I'm sorry we spied on you while you and Ichigo were on your date. Even if it _was_ Tatsuki's idea." He grumbles, and I smile, knowing that Ichigo probably _did_ hit him.

I laugh and pat him on the shoulder (I have to stand up on the very tips of my toes to accomplish this). "It's okay." I say, and we all walk into the building. We walk into our classroom and stand around talking, but our sensei makes us all sit down in our seats and quiet down before the bell rings.

"I know, I know, the bell hasn't rung yet." She says to the angry grumbles at being made to sit before the bell, and I notice that there are two empty seats in the classroom that weren't there yesterday.

"The reason you're already sitting is because today we have two new students that are joining our class, and I want you all to be introduced to them before the bell rings so that we don't miss any class time." The teacher finishes, and we all look around, trying to see if we can spot the new students, but there aren't any unfamiliar faces.

"They're coming." The sensei says when she sees us looking around. "They should just be a few minutes."

Shinji's Point of View

Wow, this school looks boring. The walls are blue and the doors are yellow. How tacky.

I look at Hitsuguya and can tell that he's not too pleased with this school so far either. I notice that everyone seems to be in class, and think that we might be late, but I don't really care. Hitsuguya seems to come to this same conclusion, though, which means that we have to hurry to our class, 1-3. I sigh as we run to the classroom. Why can't he be more laid-back, like me? Then again, maybe it's good that he's not _that_ laid-back…

"Here they are!" Says the sensei as we walk into the classroom. We bow in front of everyone as the teacher says our names, then walk over to the seats she points out to us. I look around and see cute girls and irritated looking guys, and I know that I can have a lot of fun at this school.

Rukia's Point of View

The two new students arrive after a few minutes, and the sensei introduces them.

"This is Hitsuguya Toshiro." She says, pointing to a short guy with spikey white hair and teal eyes.

"And this is Hirako Shinji." She says, then pointing to the short guy's companion, a tall guy with a blond bob and weird teeth. He's smiling, and he doesn't seem like he stops smiling very often, whereas his friend seems like he's never smiled before in his life. They take their seats and our sensei starts class.

XDXDXDXD

It's lunch time, and I'm sitting on the roof eating with most of my friends (Mizuiro and his family are on vacation, and Chad is home sick). I'm about to start eating when I realize that I left something in the classroom, so I get up and go down the long, dark stairwell, then down the hallway to the classroom, wondering about if Chad is okay.

I walk into the classroom to see one of the new guys—Shinji-sitting on his chair, his feet propped up on his desk. He's eating something that looks like dried fruit out of a little box, and he doesn't seem to have anything else to eat. I see food on the desk of the other new kid, Hitsugaya, but the boy himself is nowhere to be seen.

Shinji looks up at me when I walk in and he smiles brightly.

"Hello." He says.

"Hi." I say. "I'm Kuchiki Rukia. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting your lunch. I just need to get something from my desk."

"That's fine." He says, looking me up and down. I blush—he seems to be happy with what he sees—and I go over to my desk, looking through my bag.

"So, Shinji-san." I say, not sure of how to dismiss myself.

I turn around and see him standing uncomfortably close to me. I naturally take a step back, and he smiles.

"Sorry." He says, but he's still smiling, and his voice sounds completely insincere, so I know he's just saying that. He takes a step towards me, then plops down on a desk, giving me breathing space but still being too close.

"You're very pretty." He says, scooting slightly closer. "How would you like to eat lunch with me today? I can make Hitsugaya leave so it can just be the two of us." I gulp, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but also not wanting to spend any more time alone with him, when Ichigo walks in, obviously looking for me.

"Rukia!" He says when he sees me.

"Ichigo!" I say, and I hope he can hear the relief in my voice.

"What are you doing to Rukia?" He asks Shinji. I look down at Shinji and see that he's scowling.

"I'm not doin' nuthin'." He says, standing up. I notice with slight anticipation that Shinji is slightly taller than Ichigo. Not by a lot, but by enough.

"Anyway," Shinji say. "Why do you care?"

"Because she's my- my- my-my friend, and I'm not going to have you creeping on her like that." He says. I can tell he's struggling as to what he should call me now that we've dated. I would've been fine with 'girlfriend', but 'friend' is fine, too.

"I smile at him, letting him know that it's okay, but he either doesn't notice or ignores me.

"I wasn't creeping, I was just being friendly." Shinji says. He steps over to me and puts his arm around my shoulders. I try to shrug away from him, but he doesn't let me. I look at Ichigo, and can practically see his anger level rise. I try to send my thoughts to him, stuff like it's okay, and calm down, because I don't want to talk, but he obviously doesn't receive my messages.

Ichigo walks forward, crazily angry, and grabs Shinji's shirt collar. Shinji just smiles, which seems to bother Ichigo even more.

"You leave her alone." He hisses into Shinji's face.

"Oh, how scary." Shinji says, rolling his eyes and looking around like he's bored with the situation already.

Ichigo moves to slam Shinji against the wall, but someone puts their hand on his shoulder and stops him. We all turn around to look at this newcomer—whom none of us noticed walk in—and I see that it's the other, rather short, new kid, Hitsugaya.

"I apologize for my friend." He says. He looks calm, but I can see a vein popping out in his head, and I can tell that he's really irritated with Shinji.

"Please, would you mind putting him down?" He asks, again in his fake calm voice.

Ichigo hesitates a moment, looking at Shinji, and then, briefly, at me, but he sets him down eventually, much more gently than I would've believed.

"Aw man, Shiro, I could've managed this on my own." Shinji says to his friend. Hitsugaya shoots him a short glare, and then turns around to leave, shutting Shinji up completely. He waves brightly, then leaves after Hitsugaya, leaving me, Ichigo, and their lunches behind. When they're gone, Ichigo looks at me. He strokes my cheek, then leaves out the room into the hall, back in the direction of the roof—the opposite direction of Hitsugaya and Shinji. I run out after him, and then run ahead of him, heading up to the roof to tell everyone about what just happened, knowing that Ichigo won't want to have to take place in telling the story.

XDXDXDXD

It's been a week since the incident with Shinji at school. More importantly, it's been eight days since Ichigo and I had our first kiss, and we haven't kissed since. I was always under the impression that once you've kissed someone, then you can just go back and kiss them as many times as you'd like. Apparently, though, that's not really the case. I tried kissing him once, and I could tell that he was about to another time, but both times we just sort of quickly looked away and fell into an awkward silence. I walking in on Renji and Ichigo talking two days ago, Renji telling Ichigo to just kiss me already, but Ichigo had said that he didn't know if I wanted to kiss him or not. This may seem unimportant; why don't I either kiss him or leave him? I can't leave him, and I can't kiss him. Things are too complicated.

The day that Shinji tried flirting with me during lunch was a very strange day, even after that. My friends could hardly believe my story, and they were so shocked that they even called Mizuiro and Chad on two cell phones and had me re-tell the story for them. We'd ended up just laughing it off—everyone except Ichigo—and going back about our normal business. That day after lunch, though, I was alone on the roof, packing up my things, when Hitsugaya came onto the roof, apparently looking for me.

"You're not here to flirt with me, are you?" I ask, joking.

"No." He says, completely serious. "I'm gay, so I wouldn't be flirting with you, anyway**." {Author's note: Read the asterisk note now instead of reading the rest of the chapter and _then_ reading it.}

"Oh." I say, startled by his bluntness.

He almost smiles at this—almost—and then leans against the side of the doorway, just like Hisana does whenever she comes and sees me in my room.

"I just wanted to apologize for Shinji earlier today. I know him better than anyone, so I can tell you that he's most likely going to continue to do stuff like that, and not only to you, just for fun. It's his way of passing the time." He says calmly, sort of talking like, instead of being his equal, I'm a student and he's the sensei.

"I'll try to keep an eye on him, but we can't be together 24/7. Just shove him off of you if you need to, it won't hurt him. Just don't under any circumstances let him get away with anything. Especially because I think that boyfriend of yours might have an aneurysm if anything more happens than Shinji wrapping his arm around you." He sighs and starts to turn away.

"He's not my boyfriend." I say, thinking about Ichigo struggling to find what to call me earlier in the classroom.

"Sure." He says, and he leaves.

That had been a very strange meeting, and I'd found out that the very quiet and very short Hitsugaya is gay. I think back on that now, setting a bowl of snacks on the casual dining room table. Our house has a formal dining room which is for fancy parties and holidays, a casual dining room for normal lunches and dinners, and a breakfast room. It also has a small table with two chairs in the kitchen for when someone isn't home and it's just two people in the house. I look around, trying to see if there's enough food and drinks for everyone coming over soon. When I got into the car the other day, Byakuya had been silent for a minute, and then he'd said that he wants me to have all of my friends over for dinner and a movie, and then that I could have all of my girlfriends overnight. I'd been really surprised, but I didn't question it. It was most likely and apology for how cold he'd been acting lately, and besides, why would I question being able to have all of my friends over?

I hear the doorbell ring and go to greet my first guest. Before I answer, I check myself in a mirror. My striped yellow shirt and jean shorts look good, and my hair's down and brushed nicely (Hisana did that for me).

Surprisingly, Hisana hadn't known about the huge dinner party and sleepover, but—unsurprisingly—she agreed to it right away.

I open the door and see Matsumoto standing there—of course she's the first to arrive—followed by Renji. Renji started acting a little strange the day I told my group of friend's about Hitsugaya being gay, and soon after he broke up with Matsumoto. Matsumoto was upset a little at first, but she got over it, and now they're still friends. Actually, they're best friends now, always together. I asked Renji about it, and he'd gruffly said that Matsumoto won't leave him alone, and when I asked Matsumoto about it, she'd said that she could have more fun with him now that they aren't dating, though if that's true I don't know. I also noticed that Renji started talking to Shinji and Hitsugaya. He says that Shinji's actually a good guy when you get to know him, and that Hitsugaya has a short temper, but that he's still fun to hang out with.

Matsumoto flings herself at me, bringing me back to the present, hugging me until I have to push her back. I direct her and Renji to the refreshments while the gaze in awe at my huge house, then go to answer the door when the bell rings again. Slowly all of my friends arrive, some people coming alone, other people coming with someone else. I was sort of surprised to see Tatsuki come with Mizuiro and Keigo, but everyone else acted like it was normal, even Ishida who'd come alone, so I let it be.

Ichigo arrives last. I walk over to the door and open it up and see him in jeans and a tee shirt and jacket, even though it's rather hot out. He hands me a daisy, then puts his finger up to his lips, letting me know not to tell everyone else where I got the flower, though I'm sure everyone will figure it out when we walk in together, me suddenly holding a flower. It's a beautiful flower, yellow like my shirt. I stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek, and we walk back into the dining room.

"God, Rukia." Ichigo says, looking around. "Why didn't you ever tell us that you live in a freaking huge mansion?"

I laugh and punch his arm.

"Okay." I say when everyone stops talking for a second.

"Hisana's ordering Pizza Hut*** as a treat, and we're going to eat while watching a movie. I'm afraid that my siblings won't let any guys stay over any later than that, so-." Right then the bell rings. Everyone looks around, trying to see if anyone's missing, but everyone seems to be here. The only person who doesn't look around is Renji, and I have a feeling I know who's at the door.

I rush over to the door, a bad feeling growing in the pit of my stomach, and I throw open the door.

Shinji is standing there smugly, Hitsugaya standing behind him.

XDXDXDXD

"Don't worry." Shinji says when he sees my facial expression, smiling broadly. "I'm just dropping this midget off. I'm not staying." Hitsugaya looks up at Shinji like he doesn't want him to leave, but Shinji ignores him.

"I just want to talk to Matsumoto really quick." I nod and motion for Hitsugaya to walk in. He continuously looks back at Shinji, but whenever he does Shinji just motions for him to go forward, until we round a corner and they can't see each other anymore. We get into the kitchen without saying anything.

"Shinji wants to see you." I say to Matsumoto when we get into the kitchen. She leaves, and we all stand around awkwardly, not sure how to act around Hitsugaya. He goes over and stands next to Renji, which causes a few curious glances, but still no words.

"I'm sorry." Hitsugaya says after a minute in which Matsumoto still doesn't return.

"This was Shinji's idea. I just came along to keep an eye on him because I thought that he was going to stay." Everyone smiles and tries to make him feel comfortable, because he's obviously not used to big groups of people. After a few minutes, it feels just like it felt for me—like Hitsugaya is already part of us. Soon Matsumoto comes back, and soon after that Hisana and Byakuya come in with the pizzas. We grab a few slices—or, in Ichigo and Renji's cases, six—and we head outside, intending to eat out on the back porch like we did at Matsumoto's house.

We arrange ourselves on blankets that Hisana laid out on the grass a few hours before. I look around and notice that some people forgot napkins, so I go back inside to grab some. When I enter the kitchen, I see Hitsugaya—who'd said he needed the restroom—and Renji—who'd said he'd needed some water—kissing passionately in the kitchen. I smile to myself, quickly grab the napkins, and run back out. They're so absorbed in what they're doing that they don't even notice me.

When I get out I see that no one's started eating yet, them all having been waiting for me. I beam when I see this, then notice that I left the lemonade I'd made with Hisana earlier. I run back in, everyone saying that they'd wait and me feeling bad for making them wait to eat, and go to grab the lemonade. I run back, carrying way too many plastic cups and a large pitcher of lemonade, when I slip on a small puddle of water. I start to fall back when someone catches me, grabbing the lemonade so that it doesn't spill.

I look up and see Ichigo staring into my eyes. I feel myself blush from being so close to him. He sees this and bends down to kiss me. Finally, we kiss again.

XDXDXDXD

****NO WAY! I know, that's what most of you are probably thinking. YES WAY! Is what I have to respond. Don't worry, though. If you're doing the **_**right**_** thing and reading this asterisk note in the beginning of the story, going from where the asterisk is and then reading the asterisk note instead of reading the whole story and **_**then**_** reading the asterisk note, then I shall let you know that later in this chapter something even more crazy happens with sexuality and couples. Just read to find out **

*****Yes, they do have Pizza Hut in Japan. You can visit their website at **

**I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in so long! I've had the worst case of writer's block ever, and couldn't think of anything to write at all! I'd like to thank kalthurin for helping me through this horrible writer's block. I hope the chapter's okay. I couldn't think of a very good ending, so I hope that this one will suffice. I don't know what people are thinking right now about the RenjixToshiro couple, it's just an idea I had that was inspired by one of kalthurin's suggestions. I'd like to thank everyone for being so patient. I don't know how many more chapters will be coming, but it should be ending soon. Don't worry, though! It won't be the end of my writing. I've already started the ninth chapter, so it should be coming out soon!**

**Thanks! Review, please! Now that I've read chapter 459, I know that Ichigo actually **_**can**_** cry, so I'll tell you with confidence this time: If you don't review, then Ichigo will cry! So please, please, PLEASE! Review. **


	9. Lost Love, Love Found

**Disclaimer: I bet you can guess what I'm going to write here. No, I do not own Bleach.**

**About this chapter: Without warning, the last chapter arrives! Sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner. I just hope you enjoy this last chapter. Please read and review.**

XDXDXDXD

I'm eighteen now. Ichigo and I had been dating for four years when we broke up last month. I took it hard, but I'm slowly starting to get over it; four years is a long time. We fought, and at the same time said that we're over. We'd fought before—all couples fight- but not like this. Thinking back on it—which I do more often than I like to admit—I can't even remember what we were fighting about. All I can remember is being really angry and ending it. That was after our senior year had ended, so I haven't seen him since. Tomorrow I'm going off to college in Tokyo where I will be studying to become a doctor like my nii-sama. Though it may sound cold of me, I hope to never see Ichigo again. My reason is that if I do, I don't think that I'll be able to handle it. I loved him, I really truly did, and seeing him without being able to call him mine will break my heart in more places than I can handle.

I've cried about this in my hot pink room many times, sometimes alone, sometimes with Hisana, or Byakuya, or Matsumoto. I know I sound weak, but Ichigo was my first boyfriend and my boyfriend for four years. Anyone would be upset.

I look around at my room, counting the boxes that will be moved with me to my new apartment in Tokyo. My bed is still here since it is too big for the small apartment, which will be nice because I know that I can come back when I need to and have my bed waiting. Another thing I will need to leave behind is Kawaii. The apartment doesn't allow animals, so my baby will have to stay with Hisana and Byakuya. After much persisting I got them both to agree to let him sleep in the bed with them; Hisana had agreed to it right away, but Byakuya took some more talking to. He'd agreed only after Hisana threatened to move into my room and sleep with Kawaii instead of being in a room with Byakuya.

I walk through my closet and into my desk room, looking around. My desk is packed up and ready to go, and so is my bookshelf. There's nothing else in the room.

I look outside and see that the day is completely grey; perfect to fit my mood. I'm not necessarily sad—except when thinking about Ichigo—but I'm not happy. Who could be happy when they're about to move out and they just broke up with their boyfriend?

I go over and lay on my bed next to Kawaii. He puts his head on my stomach and looks at me like he understands what I'm going through. I rub the spot between his eyes and he closes his eyes like it feels good. I smile and feel tears fall out of my eyes, sliding down over my temples and into my hair. They're silent tears, but they're sad tears no less. He opens his eyes and licks my hand, then rolls over and falls asleep.

I watch him sleep for a minute, then stand up and start looking around. I look over and see Hisana watching me from my door. She smiles at me sadly, then walks over and hugs me.

We hug each other for a few minutes, just standing there, saying nothing. When we pull apart I see that she's crying, too.

"I'll go make you a snack." She says. She kisses my forehead and walks out, going down the stairs to the kitchen.

I pull out a list of things I need for school and check it for the millionth time. I go through the now-memorized list and see if anything isn't crossed off. I get to the bottom of the list and see something I've penciled in that isn't crossed off yet. I don't remember writing it, so I must have put it there late last night. It says _good book to read_. I smile at myself, the memory of writing it coming back; it _was_ late last night. I pull on a yellow rain jacket over a short striped dress and a matching yellow hat over my hair. Then I put on some yellow rain boots and grab a yellow umbrella, all matching my boots and jacket. Hisana bought me the set for Christmas one year, and I've worn it every rainy day since. She gave it to me quite a while ago, and everything still looks brand-new. Everything also, unfortunately, still fits, meaning that I haven't grown enough for it to be too small in the years since I got it.

I think of Ichigo calling me short, and try to block all the memories that come as soon as I think of him.

Okay. I tell myself, trying to get Ichigo out of my head. I need to get a book. I'll just go to that book store a couple of blocks away. I then think of the first time I talked to Ichigo, and about how it was in that very bookstore, and decide that I'll go somewhere else. They built a small book store about a block from Matsumoto's house, so I decide to walk there instead. I grab my purse and head out, yelling to Hisana where I'm going.

I walk along the empty streets, opening my umbrella when it starts to sprinkle a little.

I get to the book store and start feeling hungry. I'll just find someplace to eat something quickly when I'm done here. I think, and I head inside. After asking a man who works at the store about what books to read, I check out a large bag of books and head out of the store. I'm in a little area with a few stores and restaurants, and since the man liked to talk a lot about how good different books are, I'm starving by now. I look around for a good sounding restaurant. I walk into a little yakisoba restaurant and take a seat.

I look around at the cute restaurant and notice that it seems incredibly familiar, though I can't say why. I sit down and order, still looking around. I can't get rid of the feeling that I've been here before, but I also can't think of when I would've gone to a restaurant so close to Matsumoto's house. Generally when I go out to eat with Hisana and Byakuya we go someplace bigger and nicer. The waiter comes back to my table and tells me how long a wait it'll be for my food. As soon as he walks over I realize when I was here before.

"Is it too late to get that to go?" I ask, and the waiter shakes his head, going back to change the order.

XDXDXDXD

I sit outside on a bench, rain falling all around me. I've placed the bottom of my umbrella strategically in between two pieces of the bench so that it shields me from the rain while I eat my yakisoba-to-go. I look around at the park, empty of everything but memories. They even took out the playground some time ago.

I finish my meal and stand up, picking up my umbrella and heading home, disposing of my trash in a trash bin on my way.

I walk up the steps from the park and up to the street. It's unusually cold for this time of year, so I decide to hurry up and get home as the rain starts to come down harder.

I'm walking through an empty street when the door to a house opens ahead of me. I see a puff of bright orange hair, and hear a familiar voice talking.

"Thanks Kumari-San." He says, waving to an elderly woman standing in the doorway to the small house.

"I'm glad that you're feeling better, Ichigo." She says, and she shuts the door.

I stand there, frozen, I really can't move. I try to run, but I can't. Please, don't notice me. Please, please, please. I think this, but I know that in my bright yellow clothing in an empty street on a grey, cloud-filled day, there's no way that he _won't_ notice me.

"Rukia." I don't hear him say it, but I see his lips move to form my name.

Finally, my legs start working, and I run. I run as fast as my short legs will take me. I can hear Ichigo shout my name, hear his footsteps splashing through puddles as he runs after me. One would think that he would catch up to me right away, but somehow I manage to outrun him, getting lost in the process. I run through a small street in an area of town I've never been in, hoping to come across a road I know. If I can just get home then I can get inside and cry my heart out to Hisana while Byakuya glares at Ichigo through a window until he leaves. That is, if he stays long enough for Byakuya to have to glare at him.

Wait. I think to myself. Why is he even running after me? It makes no sense. We're not together anymore. Is it possible that he still-still-still lo—

Right as the impossible thought forms in my head, I slip going through a puddle that's thickening into ice. I fall head first, going down into a large puddle of water that collected in an indent in the cement road.

"Rukia!" I hear him shout, and I feel his arms wrap around me before I black out. The last thing I see is his orange hair.

XDXDXDXD

"Ichigo!" I wake up, and I sit up quickly in bed, I have to lie back down again because of a sharp pain in my head and the dizziness from sitting up too quickly. I sit up again, much more slowly this time, and look around. I'm in a small clinic room, lying in a bed with white sheets. I look down at my feet and see Kawaii sitting on my feet, keeping them warm. He's sleeping soundly, but he still looks very protective.

I notice a movement out of the corner of my eye and look to my left. I gasp when I see who's sitting there.

"Ichigo." I say quietly, like I can't believe my eyes.

"I'm here." He says, taking my hand and gently pushing me down so that I'm lying back down in bed.

"Don't go." I say, unable to say anything else. I feel a tear fall down my cheek for the second time today.

"Don't worry." He says, wiping off the tear. He leans over me and gently kisses my lips, pulling away far too soon.

"I'm not going anywhere ever again."

XDXDXDXD

**It has been an honor writing this for you.**

**SayonaraXD**


	10. What Happened to the Rest?

**This is a chapter-ish ting that lets you know what happened to all the other characters that were not mentioned in the last chapter. It is written when the characters are twenty-five.**

XDXDXDXD

Hitsuguya & Renji: They're still going strong, both working. They live together in a one-room apartment in Yokohama where they both work. Renji teaches and Hitsugaya is in politics.

XDXDXDXD

Shinji & Matsumoto: They didn't ever really hit it off. They dated for a while, but broke up after a huge fight, and they haven't spoken since. Shinji now works in Tokyo doing who-knows-what, and Matsumoto works in Karuizawa. She owns a little souvenir/ice cream shop that she lives above, working with with…

XDXDXDXD

Chad and Orihime: These two live together, married, in a small house in Karuizawa. They both work with Matsumoto at the souvenir/ice cream shop. Along with that job, chad does a variety of odd jobs, putting his strength to good use by helping everyone he can.

XDXDXDXD

Ishida and Tatsuki: They split up after moving in together, but they remained friends, so they continue to live together as friends. Tatsuki works for the police and volunteers at a children's dojo. Ishida owns multiple companies here and there, and also is the head of the hospital passed on to him by his late father.

XDXDXDXD

Mizuiro: Mizuiro lives happily with the one girl he managed to settle down with. He took over teaching class 1-3 after the old sensei won a bunch of cash and retired early.

XDXDXDXD

Chizuru and Keigo: After both experiencing devastating break-ups, Chizuru became pregnant with Keigo's child. They now live together with an eight year old, both rather unhappy in a love-less marriage that was forced upon them by their parents.

XDXDXDXD

Hisana and Byakuya: These two live happily together in their mansion, currently fawning over a three year old daughter and a one year old son. The two plan to spend the rest of their lives together raising their children, happily awaiting the day when Rukia gives them their first 'grandchild'.

XDXDXDXD

Ichigo and Rukia: Ichigo and Rukia went to college together in Tokyo, Rukia studying to become a doctor, Ichigo studying to become a teacher of Japanese language in middle school and Japanese literature in a high school. They became engaged at the age of twenty-three, then got married a year later to the day. They now live together in a medium-sized home in Kitakyushu, both working. They live in happiness, fighting rarely and always loving.


End file.
